Halo: The Beginning of the End
by Chief Ratchet
Summary: The Master Chief must stop the Prophet of Truth. The Arbiter must find the Ark. Will they both succeed or will they die trying? Halo 3. Chapter 3 is now up and running! R&R please! Discontinued because of well, Halo 3
1. Prologue

**Halo: The Beginning of the End**

By Chief Ratchet

(A.N: Hope you enjoy this!)

Prologue:

* * *

Explosions ranged across the whole battle as the Sangheili clad in special ceremonial armour fired a Brute Shot grenade launcher at the Brutes, or Jiralhanae that were set up at the other end of the tunnel. Red plasma bolts raced across his vision, causing him to duck back. Next to him, he heard a battle cry as the Sangheili clad in shining gold armour, showing his rank of a Field Master or a Zealot, charge across the tunnel, his Energy Sword, an upgrade of the original Plasma Sword, glowing.

The Jiralhanae took an exception to this threat, and directed their streams of plasma at him. Suddenly, next to the ceremonial clad Sangheili, two lances of blue flew by, imbedding themselves into one of the Jiralhanae's skulls. The body then dropped with a loud _thud_. Two of the Jiralhanae then turned to face the Sangheili that had just fired those two shots. He raised his weapon, getting a bead on his head… suddenly; he found a glowing blue ball sticking to him. Letting a roar of rage, it was lost when the explosive went off, sending his body airbourne. The last one turned to his primal instincts, threw down his weapon and was about to charge off in the direction of the Sangheili when a blade of plasma cut though the air, and wedged itself in his head, ending his time on the ring.

The Arbiter stepped out nodded respectfully at the Zealot that had just killed the last Jiralhanae, and stepped over the body. He scrounged for some ammunition for his weapons, and when he was confident that he had enough ammo and grenades, stepped out of the doorway and into the bright light outside.

Half running, half walking, he stopped outside when his hearing picked the noise of a Wraith mortar tank closing in on his position. Suddenly the hull of the tank appeared behind a rock, and slowly, the rest of the Wraith came around the corner. Starting to back up, he noticed that the two automated plasma turrets swiveling to track any targets that came within range.

The tank now started to approach him, and with every unit it got closer, he took a few steps back to avoid having the tank hit him. Raising his weapon, he tracked the tank, even as it got closer. When the tank was within the range close enough to for him to punch, the tank stopped. Confused at why the tank would stop, he nonetheless raised his weapon in case there was a Jiralhanae inside. Suddenly, the hatch of the tank popped open and a Sangheili wearing blindingly white armour, showing his rank of a SpecOps Commander. The Arbiter instantly recognized who he was, mostly because of the fact that both of his left mandibles were blown off his face. The Arbiter knew his name. Universally, his nickname was 'Half-Jaw' named for obvious reason. Less known was his real name. His real name was Zuka 'Zamamee.

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(A.N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Read and review please!)


	2. The Capture of 'Zamamee

Halo: The Beginnig of the End

By Chief Ratchet

Chapter 1: The Capture of 'Zamamee:

* * *

'Zamamee and the Arbiter ran forward. They both knew that they had to retrieve the Sacred Icon for the Prophets. With it they could begin the Great Journey, the goal for all of the Covenant. However, the Flood stood in between them and the Great Journey.

After dropping the Arbiter a Spectre, as well as a team of Sangheili, 'Zamamee had moved on. Unfortunately, on the way to rendevous with the other combat teams, their Phantom had been shot down. _Curse the Parasite and their use of weapons,_ thought 'Zamamee. Luckily, most of the other SpecOps members had survived. Unfortunately, the Parasite was closing in on his position. Fast. He had ordered the team to move to the building, when a explosion occurred. Two of the team were killed by the explosion, and another was wounded.

When they moved in, they found that the Parasite had entreched themselves. The Flood had set up human turrets along the top of the smaller building. They had been fighting off the Flood for a long time now, and their weapons were beginning to run out of energy. 'Zamamee cut off the head of a Combat Form, and sliced it apart moments later. Being a Commander had its advantages, such as acess to high class weaponary, such as the Energy Sword. _How long was it before the reinforcments would arrive_, he wondered. _Not much longer…_ he kept repeating to himself mentally.

Then, there was an explosion as the Flood controlled human tank that had been prowling around outside exploded. His enhanced hearing picked up the sound of a human tank, and despair filled him. They didn't have the firepower nescessary for destroying the tank, and the sound was getting closer and closer… there. The vehicle rounded the corner and he saw the distinct dark green colouring that a human vehicle possesed, and 'Zamamee prepared himself for the end, when the turret mounted on the tank fired.

There was an ear-splitting explosion above him, and the Flood controlling the turrets above were blown to oblivion. When 'Zamamee opened his eyes, he was amazed at the site in front of him. The Arbiter was disembarking from the tank, and the four Sangheili riding along on the sides hopped off as well. Having met him, and fought with him on the mission to destroy the Herectic, 'Zamamee knew that the Arbiter was an experienced and seasoned fighter. The Arbiter walked up to him. 'Zamamee nodded to him as a greeting, then proceeded to talk to him. "Greetings, Arbiter. I thank for the timely assistance. Quickly! We must get to the Icon!" The Arbiter then proceeded to run up the door behind the make-shift barricade that had been set up.

'Zamamee followed the Arbiter up the steps and ramps to the gondola. They both study the controls for a few seconds, then a noise starlted them both. Another one of the gondolas launched. "More humans?" 'Zamamee exclaimed. "They must be after the Icon." He concluded. Out of nowhere, they both hear the un-earthly shrieks of the Flood. Along with the cries of the Sangheili that had stayed behind. "On your way Arbiter. I shall deal with these beasts." 'Zamamee said. Leaving the Arbiter behind, he ran off in the direction of where the cries and shrieks were originating from. Activating his sword while he did so, he heard the gondola behind him shudder, then start moving.

* * *

'Zamamee started to sprint as fast as he could to the battle. While running, he quickly acessed the BattleNet. "'Nogamee? 'Novamee? Respond." He urgently ordered into the communications network. All he could hear was the firing of Plasma rifles and Carbines, as well as the howls of the Flood. When he arrived at the site of the battle, all he could see was the pack of Flood Cambat Forms, and the two Sanheili valiantly battling against the Flood. The rest were all dead. Roaring a battle cry, 'Zamamee tossed a Plasma grenade into the Flood, and takind satisfaction in their destruction, he quickly leapt into the fray.

As soon as he was in the pack of Flood, he started the hack and slice the Flood surrounding him into tiny, miniscule pieces. Mid way through the battle, he picked up the sound of a plasma grenade detonations, meaning that the Flood were accidentally detonating the grenades with other explosives or Carrier Forms. _Most likely it was the Carrier Forms_, he thought. After the battle was over, he noticed that the two other Sangheili were still alive. _Good_, he thought. _We will need all the help we can get_, he concluded. Keying the numbers needed for acessing the main BattleNet, he quickly spoke into it. "This is SpecOps Commander Zuka 'Zamamee. We will need to be evacuated _now_." He spoke. Then, the network buzzed again. "Commander 'Zamamee. You request has been heard and approved of. A Phantom is on its way to pick you up." The voice spoke back. 'Zamamee quickly responded "Acknowledged. Many thanks."

"Commander 'Zamamee? Excellency? What will happen now?" a voice spoke up. It belonged to one of the other Sangheili.

"We are to wait hear for a Phantom. It will evacuate us from this cursed place." Answered 'Zamamee.

Soon, the Sangheili heard a Phantom approach them. It hovered close to the ground, and the miniature gravity lift activated. A squad of Jiralhanae floated down the gravity lift. One of them had a red flag on his shoulder, signifying his rank as a Captain. The squad of Jiralhanae approached 'Zamamee and the two Sangheili. One of the Jiralhanae spoke up "Special Operations Commander Zuka 'Zamamee, you and the other two Sangheili have been found guilty of heresy. The price of heresy is death. The Prophets have stated that you are to be taken onto High Charity. There you will be executed." 'Zamamee was suddenly at a loss for words. Heresy? Executed? He couldn't believe it. Then, he started to raise his Energy Sword, but all the Jiralhanae levelled their weapons at him, and he suddenly thought better of it.

So, with his shoulders slumped, he walked forward onto the Phantom. Behind him, the other two Sangheili were herded towards the lift. As he boarded the Phantom, he could only wonder if the Arbiter had known of this development, and if he was even alive. For the first time in a long time, 'Zamamee felt nothing but despair and hatred of the Jiralhanae and the Prophets within him.

* * *

(A.N: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. In case you didn't know, 'Zamamee was an Elite in the novel The Flood. Although he died, I brought him back to life for this fic. Read and review please! Thanks) 


	3. The Escape of 'Zamamee

Halo: The Beginning of the End

By Chief Ratchet

Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie or Halo or anything associated with it

(A.N: I have a reviewer! This chapter and the one before details how 'Zamamee got the Wraith. Enjoy!)

mchmstr39: Thank you for the review. Your help will be appreciated. Enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter 2: The Escape of 'Zamamee

* * *

Standing onboard the Phantom, 'Zamamee pondered his fate. _No doubt that my head will become another trophy for that cursed Jiralhanae_, he thought. The other two Sangheili were there as well. Although they didn't show it, 'Zamamee knew that they were scared. _I should have killed those Jiralhanae when I had my weapon_, he spoke to himself mentally. While he was contemplating his ultimate fate, he didn't notice that the Phantom was starting to slow down.

"Alright you Sangheili filth, get up and start moving" ordered the Jiralhanae. 'Zamamee was so deep in thought that one of the Jiralhanae had to hit him in the side with his Plasma Rifle. 'Zamamee was jolted out of his thoughts when the blow struck him in the side. His shield flared, and 'Zamamee was sent reeling backwards. "Get moving, you worthless piece of filth" snarled the Jiralhanae Captain. 'Zamamee got up, and shot the Captain and the Jiralhanae that had hit him a glare that could have blasted through the armour of an Assault Carrier.

Striding across the cavernous troop bay of the Phantom, 'Zamamee reached the gravity lift, and stepped into it. Immediately, he was floated down to the ground. Looking around to take in his new surroundings, the first thing 'Zamamee noticed was that they were on a sandy 'beach' of sorts. Looking carefully, he noticed that the water's edge was actually over the cliff he was facing! 'Zamamee was so intent on taking in his surroundings that the Jiralhanae had to once again, hit him with a Plasma Rifle. This time, 'Zamamee stumbled forward as the Jiralhanae behind him chuckled with satisfaction. 'Zamamee was not hurt, but he was quite depressed with the situation he was in.

After the blow had hit him, 'Zamamee was ushered to a large building that he had failed to notice when he first arrived here. Most likely that it is a prison of sorts, or a holding cell. _They aren't going to execute me here or else they would have done so already_, he mused. While approaching the large, Forerunner building, he noticed many things. First were the Shielded Plasma Turrets, an improvement made upon the Shade turret used on the first Halo. Secondly, there was a large motor pool off to his right, which was filled with Wraiths, Spectres and many, many Ghosts.

_They should be helpful for my escape. If I can find one_. Then, as he got even closer to the building, he noticed the gigantic Scarab, parked near a platform, which must be connected to the main building, 'Zamamee concluded. When he neared the door, which had two Wraiths guarding it, the door automatically opened for him and his Jiralhanae escorts, who covered his every possible escape path. When he entered the building, his head hanging low with shame, he noticed through the mental haze which was making his head spin with confusion as the voices in his head argued with each other that there was a Plasma Turret on the balcony in front of him. The Jiralhanae next to him herded him to a ramp on the side.

Walking up the ramp, he was escorted to the next room where he noticed there were energy fields up sealing the cells. His captors walked him towards one of the empty ones and on the way to the cell; he noticed that there were Unggoy, Sangheili and Lekgolo in the cells that he passed. The room was quite large, with an empty space in the middle. There was a second floor with even more cells, and suddenly, the cold bleak realization dawned on him; the order to arrest him had spanned across the entire Sangheili race, and not just him. The Unggoy and Lekgolo were most likely just placed in there for a crime of some sorts.

As they escorted him to his assigned cell where he was to wait until he was sent to High Charity to be executed. In front of a large, no, wait, _enormous_ crowd, who were seated across multiple levels and the platform was in view of all the levels, no less. When he passed a cell with an energy barrier in front of it, he peered inside curiously. What was inside the cell shocked him. It was a Sangheili Councilor.

The Councilor wore the helmet that all Councilors wear, which made them easy to recognize. The helmet and the silver amour made it clear that he was of a council. The helmet was larger than that of a normal Sangheili The High Council members wore the same helmet and armour; however they had a violet stripe running from their shoulder to where the chest armour ended.

As 'Zamamee passed the Councilor, the Councilor gave him a look of pity. Out of respect, 'Zamamee gave a slight bow of his head to the Councilor. The Jiralhanae obviously didn't approve of his action, and hit him. The sheer force of the blow sent 'Zamamee sprawling on the floor. "Keep moving, _split lip_" one of the Jiralhane snarled, using the nickname the humans assigned to the Sangheili. 'Zamamee, taking offence in the insult, got up, and turned to face his attacker. Bad move. All the Jiralhanae aimed their weapons at him. Noticing the weapons pointing at him, the Sangheili decided it was time to back down. He turned around and walked to his cell.

* * *

A few days later, inside his cell which was just a small room designed to fit at the most, two occupants. Obviously it was improvised. The cell had two beds in the corners and had enough space in the middle for him to pace around when he was bored. To let a little fresh air in, there was a window located at the back of the cell. There were metal bars, and each bar had a shield stop it from being broken, and consequently, having the prisoner escape.

'Zamamee was so bored that he was thinking that he would think himself to death. It was preferable than being executed. The sudden noise of foot steps jolted him out of his thoughts. They only approached his cell to either bring in food or to mock him. Since it wasn't time for his food yet, he decided that they must be here to mock and to make fun of him. The footsteps were getting closer now. Then he picked up the stench of a Jiralhanae. Sure enough, a Jiralhanae appeared at the barrier to his cell. "Looks like our lucky day, Sangheili. The Council has postponed your execution date until another seven cycles, at least. The holy city is having some problems" and with that the Jiralhanae left him to ponder what was going on.

* * *

The next day, footsteps approached him. This time, he picked the smell of the Jiralhanae, as well as the smell of something…different. It was only then did he realize that it was the smell of a human. The fact that it took so long to recognize the smell made him realize how long it had been since he attacked a human. Soon a Jiralhanae approached with a human in tow. The human's eyes went wide with fear when it realized that it was going to be put in a cell with a Sangheili. The human struggled a bit before realizing that resistance was futile. The Jiralhanae threw the human into the cell.

"Have fun, you two" he told them. When the energy field reappeared, 'Zamamee threw himself at the human and grabbed it around the throat. Judging from its size, it was a male. 'Zamamee had his hands around the humans throat and was about to squeeze when he noticed the Jiralhanae watching with interest and satisfaction. 'Zamamee stopped himself from squeezing the life out of the human. He wasn't ready to give the Jiralhanae outside his cell any satisfaction. Throwing the human down onto the cold, hard floor, he wordlessly turned around and stormed off to his bed.

* * *

Private Adam Kenzie was an exceptionally worried Marine, and he had a good reason to be so. There was an Elite in the cell with him. The thing had almost choked him, but, for some reason he didn't understand, the Elite had stopped. Though he suspected that the Brute standing guard outside probably had something to do with it. He rubbed the place where the Elite had grabbed his neck. It was then that he noticed that there were two beds, and the Elite had already occupied one of them. _Damned split –lip_, he thought. He then placed his hand onto his pocket. There, the M6C Magnum was still in his pocket. The Brutes were very careless; they just grabbed him and threw him to the Phantom without checking if he was carrying a weapon.

Walking over to his bunk, he gave the Elite a glance. It was lying in its bunk, looking up at the ceiling. It seemed to be in deep thought. Adam didn't really give a damn; all he knew about them was that they were killers. Settling down on his bunk, he pulled a picture of his girlfriend out of his pocket and for a long time it seemed to him, he stared at it. Finally, with a sigh, he lay down and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Adam woke up with a groan. The bed wasn't very comfortable, but the Elite didn't seem to complain about it. The Elite, in fact, didn't even seem to be awake. Absent-mindedly, he felt his pocket to make sure that the Magnum was still there. It was. After, he turned his mind to more important things, such as what use a Magnum would be if he was executed. Considering that he was a human, he was most likely to be. _What if I gave it to the damned split-lip_, he wondered. _Maybe it would escape, and besides, if I am going to die, then I might as well have someone else have freedom, _he thought. Soon, when he was going to be taken out of the cell and executed, he would toss the Elite the Magnum, and watch it escape. _Soon_, he thought. _Very soon_.

'Zamamee woke up without a sound. As he shook off the disorientation and weariness from his being, he noticed that the human in the cell with him was watching him intently. "What are you looking at, infidel?" 'Zamamee demanded to know. The human said nothing. With a sigh of frustration, 'Zamamee settled back onto his bed. _What would Yayap be doing_, 'Zamamee wondered.

The Unggoy had survived the destruction of the Holy Ring with him, and was promoted to the silver armour of Unggoy Field Commander, and was also his personal assistant. _Probably getting into a fight with some Kig-yar_, he thought with a mental chuckle. Yayap had been reassigned to a station on board the Forerunner ship in the middle of High Charity. What 'Zamamee didn't know was that Yayap was indeed fighting a group of Kig-yar. Just not the kind of fight 'Zamamee was picturing in his mind.

* * *

"Holy flare!" Yayap screamed, before tossing a Plasma grenade down the hallway of the ancient Forerunner ship at the enemy: a pack of Kig-yar advancing on him and his group of Unggoy, all of them wearing the black armour of SpecOps. Though the grenade didn't stick to the Kig-yar, the sight of the primed grenade in the hallway caused all of the Kig-yar to jump or roll out of the blast radius of the Plasma grenade. In doing this, they had to move their shields away from their bodies, which allowed the Unggoy to get a good shot at the now exposed Kig-yar.

Yayap fired his Plasma Pistol as fast as he could, and he was rewarded with the sight of one of the Kig-yar's lifeless body dropping to the ground, plasma scorch marks all over it. The other Unggoy did the same, firing at the Kig-yar with a combination of Needlers and Plasma Pistols. The Kig-yar must have orders to take as many alive as possible, because there weren't any Jiralhanae around to viciously kill them. That didn't stop the Kig-yar from firing back though, as one of the Unggoy fell after being hit with as least four overcharged plasma blasts.

"DOWN IN FRONT!" Yayap heard the cry behind him. A single Plasma grenade flew over his head to land in the midst of the Kig-yar pack. The grenade detonated, and many of the Kig-yar were given a flying lesson as they flew into the walls on the side, staining the shining metal of which the ship was constructed from with their blood. Yayap overcharged his pistol, and let the bolt of deadly, sizzling energy loose down the hallway. The globule of plasma splashed across the shield of a Kig-yar. The shield overloaded, and seven needles homed in on the shield less Kig-yar. The needles embedded themselves in the Kig-yar, and then detonated.

The blood of the unfortunate Kig-yar sprayed across the shields of the other Kig-yar and that alone startled the others long enough for the Unggoy to start shooting into the Kig-yars ranks, though albeit poorly. However, it was enough to kill some of the Kig-yar as well as wounding others. Yayap heard some explosions behind him, and turned around to see a Sangheili Minor run around the corner.

The Sangheili let out a war cry when he saw the Kig-yar advancing on them, and let fly a Plasma grenade at the Kig-yar. The warrior threw it with enough strength that it went over the Kig-yar's shields and adhered to one of the Kig-yar. The Kig-yar panicked and ran straight towards one of its companions. The resulting explosion killed them both.

After the explosion, the Sangheili fired the Plasma Rifle in his hand. The bolts of plasma slashed across the corridor and hit the shields of the Kig-yar. One of the Kig-yar couldn't hold the shield up against such a barrage of fire, and shield left its safe position and multiple bolts hit the Kig-yar. It collapsed moments later.

Still firing, the sole Sangheili turned more Kig-yar into burned corpses until his Plasma Rifle overheated. At that critical moment, an overcharged plasma bolt hit the shields of the warrior, therefore draining the shields. Then, another overcharged plasma bolt hit him, and then another, and yet another bolt followed the previous one. The Sangheili went down with his plasma rifle blazing.

The death of the Sangheili was enough to send almost all the Unggoy panicking, save a few. Yayap, being one of the few to stay to fight, decided that there were too many Kig-yar to fight. So he screamed down to the other heroic Unggoy, "Too many! RUN AWAY!" That was enough to change the minds of the other Unggoy. They all turned tail and ran as fast as they could down the corridor. Suddenly, a Jiralhanae turned around the corner. He leveled a Plasma Rifle at them, and growled "Stop. NOW!"

Yayap and all the other SpecOps Unggoy skidded to a halt, and reluctantly dropped their Plasma Pistols and Needlers to the floor. The Jiralhanae chuckled. "That is good. Be good Unggoy and you won't die. Yet." He chuckled another laugh, and without further remarks, herded them into the improvised 'detention level', and shoved them all into a single cell and activated the energy shield. After he left, all Yayap could think about is what is going to happen to him.

* * *

'Zamamee was still on his bed, but he couldn't sleep. The last few days had him so shocked that he needed to think. "Hey." A voice shook him from his thoughts. "What, infidel? If you interrupt me again, I swear, by the Forerunners, that I will choke the life out of you with me bare hands!"

"They are coming for me. I can hear them." 'Zamamee strained to here something, and sure enough, there were heavy footsteps.

"So? It doesn't worry me, human."

"You should."

"Why? I don't care about you."

"No, but because I have an escape route for you."

'Zamamee was fairly shocked to hear that. "How?"

"I have a pistol with me. When they come to get me, they will drop the energy field. You can shoot the Brute in the head, and then escape."

'Zamamee caught the pistol that the human tossed to him. It was a human pistol. _But, it is worth the escape_, he told himself. Nodding to the human, he hid the pistol so the Jiralhanae couldn't see it. Soon, a Jiralhanae came to the cell. "You will come with me, human." Adam got up threw the Elite a grim smile, and walked out. Just before the Jiralhanae closed the barrier, 'Zamamee shot the Jiralhanae in the head. The round went in, tore apart his head, and the Jiralhanae hit the floor.

'Zamamee ran out of the cell, and cast a look at the human, and saw him being taken away by two Jiralhanae. 'Zamamee ran on.

As he ran past, he saw an Energy Sword in a container. Stopping to grab it, as soon as his hand gripped the hilt and activated it, a Jiralhanae came around the corner. It leveled the Brute Shot at him. Before it fire, however, 'Zamamee had lunged forward and cut it apart.

Not stopping to admire his handiwork, 'Zamamee continued to run forward for the exit, which was the entrance. Stopping just outside the detection zone that signaled to the door to open, 'Zamamee remembered two things. First of all, there were two Wraith tanks stationed outside the door. Secondly, his armour has Active Camouflage. Momentarily cursing himself for forgetting about that piece of equipment, he soon stopped and activated the Camouflage, and disappeared from sight.

Taking a deep breath, 'Zamamee ran at the door as fast as he could, and burst through the open doorway. Sure enough, as he looked around, there were two Wraith tanks posting guard at either side of the doorway. Remembering the motor pool, he ran for it. As soon as he was in it, he headed for the Wraith tank parked there.

Hopping inside the cockpit and sealing the hatch, he quickly hit the holographic activation switch. The tank rumbled to life, and he turned the tank to face the rest of the tanks in the pool. Activating the mortar, he fired it at the tanks that were parked there.

While the blast didn't destroy the tanks, it did damage them enough for a second mortar blast to turn them into blazing wrecks on the ground. Turning the tank around to face the doorway, he fired a mortar at the doorway. The stream of Jiralhanae that were pouring out of the doorway were reduced to a trickle after the mortar blast flung bodies in every direction.

By now, the two other Wraiths had gotten a bead on his tank, and lobbed two balls of plasma at his tank. 'Zamamee quickly accelerated the tank, and the plasma narrowly missed him. Deciding that it was better to run, he gunned the tank forward, activating the automated plasma defence turrets that sprayed the mob of Jiralhanae in front of him with plasma.

Bodies fell, and some flew great distances when the armoured hull of the boosted tank hit them. Moving forward, he kept on going, ignoring the screams and howls of the Jiralhanae behind him.

'Zamamee was free.

* * *

(A.N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Soon the real thing will begin, so don't back out on me now!) 


	4. ONI Section Negative

Halo: The Beginning of the End

By Chief Ratchet

Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie or Halo or anything associated with it

(A.N: Yes, I know that there isn't much Halo 3 yet, but very soon it will)

Sierrkoi: Thanks for the tip. Anonymous reviews are now enabled. To answer your question, this would be a John/Linda one. Keep R&R!

Infinite Inferno: Thank you. All hail Chief Ratchet!

Chapter 3: ONI Section Negative

* * *

Spartan-084, or otherwise known as Fhajad, moved his wheelchair down a corridor in ONI's Zero base. Located many kilometers underground on Earth, here was where all of ONI's most secretive projects were stored. Most of the technologies born here were used in the fight against the Covenant.

Now, most people knew that there were 'official' three sections of ONI: Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3. A few lucky individuals knew of ONI Section Zero, one of the most secretive sections of ONI. However, only three people in the whole of the UNSC knew of another ONI section: ONI Section Negative.

ONI Section Negative was made up of the Spartans that were deemed unsuitable for combat when they were augmented. There were only five of them, but they could handle a section that might have hundreds, especially with their enhanced thinking. It was easier to handle a section when people didn't know it even existed. This made the job easier for the five Spartan twos in the section.

Fhajad turned a corner, and with a shaking hand tapped into the keypad the password for accessing the main room of Section Negative. The section's multiple labs and rooms were heavily defended by a series of automated defences, namely the miniaturized chain guns mounted in hidden roof and wall panels. Not to mention that there was a Lotus anti-tank mine around each corner. Anyone who didn't have the right password was ordered by the security AI to halt and retype the password. If the password wasn't correct again, then a security team was alerted. The most annoying thing about typing the password was that it was changed everyday.

Fhajad waited impatiently as the machine ran the password through to make sure it was correct. Finally the thick, heavy blast doors slowly groaned open. Wheeling his chair down the hallway, he soon reached where he wanted to go. The door said _Lab PXG 173_. It was the one lab where he was dedicating most of his time to.

As he entered, the first thing he did was to order the AI here to shut and lock the door behind him. Fhajad let out a deep sigh of content. Here was where he was most content. Fiddling away with machinery, in a lab. Fhajad moved to a computer terminal. He opened the files labeled _Experimental Plasma Defence Grid_. He scanned through the files. It was filed to the brim with information and schematics on the Covenant plasma weapons like the standard Plasma Rifle or Pistol. No other ONI section had any luck reverse engineering the plasma weapons, let alone figure it out. Today, he might just change that.

* * *

Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood stood at the bridge of the _Cairo_. It was currently undergoing adjustments to its main barrel. It was twice in two weeks that the Cairo was upgraded from a Mk.V to a Mk.VII. _It must have been the fastest development time for these upgrades_, thought Hood. Each one of the upgrades were small, but they helped the _Cairo_, anyway.

The Mk.VI was an upgrade to the shells the gigantic MAC gun fired. The shells were only 500 pounds heavier, but the shell was almost twice as dense as the previous shells. It was a miracle how the Section Negative Spartans had done it. Most other people thought it came from Section 3. From what he knew, they must have fused the tungsten and the depleted uranium together at extremely high temperatures. From the test firing simulations, the new shell could punch through a Covenant Carrier and still have enough force to turn the ship behind it into space atoms.

Currently, the upgrade it was undergoing was a special Magnetic Depolarizing Field. Like the new shell, it too was developed by Section Negative. From what they had told him, the new Magnetic Depolarizing Field, or MDF, allowed the detonation of a nuke near the station outside the blast radius. Normally, such a detonation would have burnt out the coils of the MAC due to the EMP. However, the MDF generated a field around the station that depolarizes the magnetic field holding the EMP together, and the EMP would fall apart, into small pockets of harmless magnetic pulses.

_First a shell that can punch through multiple Covenant ships, then a device that disables EMP, what next?_ Thought Hood. They were probably working on a device or a defence grid for Earth, or devising a plan to destroy the next Covenant patrol. Little did Hood know that one of his ideas was correct.

* * *

Fhajad examined the information that Cortana had brought back from her time on the _Ascendant Justice_. Although there was a good deal of information on the multiple systems, he was more interested in the plasma weapons. It seemed that the plasma systems that the Covenant used, though effective, it was highly reliant on the survival of the ship that fired the bolt to be intact. Fhajad pondered the implications of a defence grid that fired the plasma beam that Cortana had developed. Its only downside was that the plasma would have regenerate before firing again.

Another problem would be the plasma. Where would he get the plasma? Then a thought struck him. What if he made the plasma? Plasma was essentially superheated gas that was held together by a magnetic field. While the Covenant used a different gas, what if he used a mixture of hydrogen and high octane fuel? The fuel would normally explode under direct contact with heat, but what he span the mixture around with the heat applied in small amounts? The results could devastating for the Covenant.

Then he thought about the heat necessary for the plasma. Where would he get it? The fusion generators were already working to the limit with keeping over three hundred MAC stations working. Then he thought about other options. What about another generator? No, that would take too much time to build. Nuclear? Fhajad shook his head with amusement. A hit on the power station would set the whole thing off like a bomb. Geothermal? He thought quickly. If a line was hooked up to the mantle, where it would send the heat back up and a small station would convert it, it could generate a lot of power very quickly. The mantle was about three to four thousand Celsius, and that would provide a great amount of power.

Suddenly, the miniature holotank mounted on his wheelchair hummed to life. "What is it, Athena?" he demanded to know, irritation in his voice.

The AI's figure appeared on the tank. "Colonel Ackerson has demanded a meeting with you."

Fhajad grumbled under his breath. "Did he say when?"

"Now."

Fhajad sighed, and wheeled his chair to the elevator. He waited for it, and then moved on it and rode it to level 4D, where all meetings for the facility took place. The elevator grinded to a halt, and then stopped. He wheeled the chair outside and into the room. Inside the room was Colonel Ackerson. Fhajad saw the Colonel, and sighed. The man was staring at him with hate-filled eyes. "What is it, Colonel?" Fhajad asked.

"You freaks are up to something. Three of my men were reassigned to this outpost."

"Whatever we do Colonel, is our business and only our business. You are part of ONI Section Three. We are Section Negative. You officially exist. _We_ don't. The only people who know we exist are Dr. Halsey, Admiral Hood and you."

Ackerson was mad. Extremely mad. "Where are my men?" he demanded.

"They are no longer your men, Ackerson. They were reassigned to this outpost, and are now under the command infrastructure of this base. Is this all you have to say, Ackerson? Because if there is no more, then I will be on my way."

With that, Fhajad left the room.

* * *

As Fhajad entered the lab once more, he quickly got back to work on the defence grid. Although the protection of Earth was important, he knew that the three hundred Mk.VII MAC stations in orbit could hold off a large assault for some time, and there would not be enough time to construct three hundred of those. However, there should be enough time to hopefully complete about ten of the turrets. "Athena? Open up a 360o holographic image of the planet, please." The holoprojector sprung to life as a three dimensional image of Earth opened up.

Fhajad traced a line across the equator. "Athena? Place a marker where I touch." Fhajad touched ten places, all along the equator. "Yes, that should do quite nicely," he murmured. "All of them can track a target on their side of the globe." He straightened up.

He then moved to a table with the terminal. He opened up the schematic construction program, and then proceeded to draw a schematic of the turrets that they were hopefully, going to build. Within the hour, he had the plan drawn up, though it was tricky with his hands shaking for most of the drawing. Suddenly, the video communicator off to his right started to beep. He moved to the terminal, and turned it on. The face of Admiral Hood showed up on screen. "Admiral, sir!" Fhajad snapped off a shaky salute.

"At ease, son." Fhajad dropped his arm. "I'm curious. Tell me, was it your group that developed the Depolarizer?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now tell me, is there anything else going on at the place you are holed up in? Any secret weapons that will help us win the war?"

"Well, sir, we have the schematics for an experimental plasma defence grid. I was going to send a message to you for approval of the defence grid."

Hood chuckled. "Well, that was fast. You get me those plans and schematics, and I have the grid up and running within ten days."

"Sir, I was just going to send them to you. The plans will have everything sorted out. Power source, materials, everything. In fact, I have just sent them, and they should be in your computer folder by now."

"Good work son. I'll have the grid up and running before you can blink." And with that, the screen winked off.

* * *

Admiral Hood walked away from the screen after he had cut the link. He went to his personal files, and found the plans as well as the schematics for the defence grid. Everything was well thought out and planned for. Fhajad had obviously known that the fusion generators couldn't take the strain of having to supply power to over three hundred MAC platforms, as well as generating enough heat to prepare the plasma turrets ready. After reading through the whole thing, he made a copy of it and sent it to the ground engineers. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Get to your stations and test the new MDF!"

The crew onboard the bridge scrambled for their stations. Soon, when the Covenant attacks, they would get a nasty surprise in the form of the plasma turrets on the surface.

* * *

A.N: Another chapter done! Thanks for waiting for this chapter. One more chapter, and then we are onto the real thing you are here for: Halo 3 works. Soon I will be starting my ShadowDome fic, so it will interfere with this fic. Sorry, and when I start the ShadowDome, please R&R it. Oh, and R&R this chapter as well! Thanks to all the reviewers so far! 


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